Michael Young homers, drives in 5 runs as Rangers hammer Blue Jays 11-2

TORONTO – Michael Young homered and drove in five runs and Matt Harrison allowed two hits in eight innings as the Texas Rangers defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 11-2 on Sunday.

The injury depleted Blue Jays finished their 10-game home stand with a 3-7 record after losing the rubber match of the three-game series with the American League West leaders.

The Rangers outhit the Blue Jays 19-2 on Sunday and won the final two games of the series.

Toronto starter Henderson Alvarez (7-11) allowed 12 hits, three walks and eight runs in 4 1/3 innings. He left in the five-run fifth that included a three-run homer by Young.

David Murphy hit his 11th homer of the season against Chad Jenkins in the ninth.

Texas lefty Harrison (14-7) held the Blue Jays to two runs with Mike McCoy driving in both, one with a groundout and the other with a home run.

The Blue Jays (56-65) scored first in the second when McCoy’s infield bouncer scored Yunel Escobar from third base.

But the Rangers (70-50) struck back in the third. Murphy led off with a double and slid home safely on a single by Geovany Soto, who took second on the throw home.

Mitch Moreland singled to make it 2-1 and he took third when Ian Kinsler ended a 0-for-21 drought with a double. But Alvarez avoided further damage in the inning by striking out Elvis Andrus and Josh Hamilton and retiring Adrian Beltre on a grounder to third.

The Rangers scored once in the fourth when Young singled and scored on a double by Murphy, who was thrown out trying for third.

Texas broke the game open in the fifth.

Andrus, who made a superb play at shortstop on Edwin Encarnacion’s grounder into the hole in the fourth, singled with one out in the fifth and scored on a double by Hamilton.

Beltre walked and Nelson Cruz singled to score Hamilton. Young followed with his fourth homer of the season and his first homer since May 7 at Baltimore, a span of 88 games.

McCoy hit his first homer of the season in the fifth but the Rangers came back with two more in the sixth on a double by Young.

Notes: Rookie Adeiny Hechavarria made his first major-league start at second base on Sunday.In his 10 previous starts, nine were at third base and one was at shortstop. … Third baseman Brett Lawrie (rib cage) played Sunday for single-A Dunedin as he continued his rehabilitation assignment. Dunedin has a day off Monday so he will play for the Blue Jays Gulf Coast League team where he will be joined by Jose Bautista (left wrist), who will start his rehabilitation assignment. … First baseman David Cooper was a late scratch from the starting lineup Sunday because of lower-back tightness. … The Blue Jays have Monday off and open a three-game series in Detroit on Tuesday. … Announced attendance at Rogers Centre was 35,701.